Ben Johnson’s ability to call offensive plays landed him the head coaching job with the Bears in 2025 and it helped the team win the NFC North on its way to the divisional round of the playoffs.
Johnson is raising the bar for himself in his second season in Chicago. He told reporters on Tuesday that he has changed “fairly significantly” since he first called plays for the Lions in 2022. Johnson said he believes he is “better in situations than I’ve been in the past” and that his improvement should help him face what he identified as the major offensive challenge that his team will face this season.
“We have different guys this year than we had last year and certainly anywhere else I’ve been,” Johnson said, via the team’s website. “The challenge is making sure that we’re all coordinated and on the same page and putting them all in a spot to succeed. But I love the challenge of looking at Luther Burden and how we get him the ball and maximize what he does best, along with Rome [Odunze] and Colston [Loveland] and Cole [Kmet]. We have this whole slew of weapons we’re looking to maximize. I think that’s the fun part. The plays don’t matter so much to me; it’s moreso, how do we get these guys the ball in space to do what they do so well?’”
All of the players Johnson listed will need quarterback Caleb Williams to deliver them the ball for the offense to come together as hoped. Williams thrived last season when things broke down, but Johnson said that the quarterback “just needs to worry about executing the play at hand” and that view underscores the coach’s confidence in his own ability to push the right buttons in 2026.
Bears Clips
The Bears claim they’re focused on building a new stadium in Indiana. And yet they’re still talking to Illinois.
On Tuesday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker told reporters that there have been “incoming calls” from the Bears to Pritzker and legislative leaders in recent days.
“The Bears would like to see something happen,” Pritzker said, via Brenden Moore of Capitol News Illinois, “and we all do, too. And so the question is, ‘Can they do that?’”
He said the Bears are currently trying to regroup.
Pritzker added that the Bears made some “fumbles” from the outset of the process. Among other things, he mentioned the lack of focus on one location, the absence of a clear plan in the recent legislative session, and the failure to be present on the final day of the session.
The door is open for a special legislative session, if (as Pritzker said) the House and Senate can get together on one piece of legislation. (Pritzker added that legislative leaders can also call a special session.)
And so, while the Bears have a bird in the hand in Hammond, Indiana, they’re still looking for a solution in Illinois. Which makes sense.
Nothing in Hammond is official, and the team’s stated desire to advance the ball in Indiana looks like nothing more than an effort to get the ball rolling in Illinois.
More than 90 percent of the players selected in the 2026 NFL draft have signed their rookie contracts. Among the players who remain unsigned, there are two big clusters, at the top of the third round and the top of the fourth round.
The first six players drafted in the third round are still unsigned: Cardinals quarterback Carson Beck, Broncos defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim, Raiders defensive end Keyron Crawford, Eagles tackle Markel Bell, Bears tight end Sam Roush and 49ers edge rusher Romello Height.
The first seven players drafted in the fourth round are also unsigned: Raiders cornerback Jermond McCoy, Bills tackle Jude Bowry, Jets defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr., Cardinals defensive tackle Kaleb Proctor, Chargers wide receiver Brenen Thompson, Texans guard Febechi Nwaiwu and 49ers defensive tackle Gracen Halton.
Those 13 players make up the majority of the 2026 draft picks who haven’t signed their rookie contracts yet.
Bills General Manager Brandon Beane said on the team’s YouTube show that high third and fourth-round picks are encouraged by the players’ union to ask for contract provisions that the players in the previous round are getting.
“A lot of years it was the third round took forever,” Beane said. “The union is constantly trying to push down everything from the second round into the third round, and then the third round to make the fourth round better. In this CBA it feels like the fourth round has become more difficult.”
Beane said he understand why Bowry’s agent doesn’t want him to sign until he sees what other fourth-round picks can get, but he thinks it will work itself out before training camp.
“Sometimes agents are a little afraid to do something if the guy in front of them hasn’t done it,” Beane said. “They don’t want to look bad. It’s all recruiting. Jude’s been great. Until it’s done it’s not done, but we’re optimistic.”
A handful of first- and second-round picks also remain unsigned. Every player picked in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds has signed.
With the Bears issuing a non-binding announcement on Friday that they will be advancing with the potential construction of a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana, the Bears want their leverage play against Illinois to not be viewed as the leverage play it is.
Of course it’s a leverage play. If it wasn’t, a deal would already be done to build in Hammond.
Instead, the Bears keep talking to Illinois even as they supposedly focus on Indiana.
It makes sense for the Bears to try to persuade members of the media that Indiana isn’t a leverage play. (It doesn’t make sense for members of the media to swallow the hook, unless it’s a part of a broader quid pro quo for scoops and/or access.) For a leverage play to be effective, it has to be viewed as real. If it’s not viewed as real, the leverage won’t move the needle in Illinois.
The real question isn’t whether Indiana is leverage (because it is) but whether Indiana is a bluff. In other words, are the Bears simply using a potential Hammond move as a way to get the best possible deal in Arlington Heights? (Also, did the Bears initially pivot to Arlington Heights to get the best possible deal in Chicago?)
It’s possible that the Bears, deep down, do not want to leave Chicago, but that the organization concluded at the outset of this process that it’s impossible to build a new stadium in Chicago on terms favorable to the franchise unless the city and the state believe the team may build across the border.
With a move out of the area an impossibility (the placement of two teams in L.A. took away an ideal “or else” threat for two decades of stadium projects), a potential move within the area carries real value. As leverage, and possibly as a bluff.
That’s the thing about a bluff. Admitting it’s a bluff strips the bluff of any value.
Regardless of whether the Bears will actually move to Indiana, the possibility remains leverage for now. If it wasn’t, there would be nothing for the Bears and Illinois to discuss. The mere fact that the two sides are still talking proves conclusively that the Bears are playing Indiana against Illinois — in the same way that they’ve been playing Arlington Heights against Chicago.
Caleb Williams wants to trademark the nickname of one Basketball Hall of Famer, but he wants to be like another.
Williams, who has said he didn’t know George Gervin was the original “Iceman,” paid homage to the greatest athlete in Chicago’s history, Michael Jordan, on the standard cover of Madden NFL 27. The cover, which features Williams’ fourth-down jump pass in the comeback win over the Packers in the wild-card round, asked EA Sports to add the Chicago skyline behind him.
The original 1985 Air Jordan campaign poster showed the Bulls star midair with the sun setting over the Chicago skyline behind him. The Bulls won six championships from 1991-98.
“That’s the position I want to be in, but I also wanted to pay respect to MJ,” Williams said Thursday at the EA Sports season-opening event, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “It was more of a respect thing. Bringing retro back, not letting people forget that and doing it on my side of the world of football. Paying respect to that and him and what he was able to do in Chicago. Just honestly wanted to bring that energy, that vibe back.”
Williams has yet to meet Jordan, but said a meeting is “in the works.”
Williams joins Saquon Barkley, Josh Allen, Christian McCaffrey, Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson as a Madden NFL cover boy. Only Mahomes and Brady have graced the cover more than once, a feat Williams hopes to achieve.
Being on the cover used to bring with it the so-called Madden Curse, with Garrison Hearst, Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Michael Vick and Shaun Alexander among those to have a decrease in on-field production or an injury in the ensuing season they were the face of the video game series.
Mahomes, though, won a Super Bowl the first time he was on the cover.
Williams isn’t afraid.
“No more of this Madden curse,” Williams said. “We’re going to go out and do all the things we need to do, stay healthy, do all the things we need to do study film and be prepared each week, and go out there and handle business.”
The deluxe edition of Madden 27 features Williams in a white jersey with falling snowflakes in a nod to the “Iceman” nickname he hopes to take over from Gervin.
With the Bears announcing a plan to proceed with plans to build a new stadium (but with nothing official at this point), Illinois still has a chance to turn things around.
A statement issued by the office of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker makes clear that the door remains open.
“The Bears have built a storied legacy in Illinois for over 100 years but have spent the last six years, and especially the last few months, shifting their position on a stadium location,” the governor’s office said. “That has hindered their progress.
“Today appears to be another instance of that after Illinois leaders have been working with the Bears in good faith. . . . Governor Pritzker has always been clear that he wants the Bears to stay in Illinois and still remains open to a sensible solution that protects taxpayers.”
Time will tell whether the Bears plan to move to Indiana, or whether it’s all a bluff. Until the paperwork is signed for a new stadium in Indiana, nothing is final.
Friday’s announcement from the Bears regarding the intention to move forward with a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana doesn’t mean much, because it’s not binding on the Bears.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson made that point in a statement issued on Friday afternoon.
“Over the last several years the Bears have stated their intentions in multiple jurisdictions, today’s announcement is not surprising,” Johnson said.
“It’s also not surprising that Bears officials have stated this vote does not mean a move to Hammond is a done deal.
“Without a final site selection, until we see shovels in the ground in Hammond, the City of Chicago will continue to engage in discussions grounded in the interests of our residents.”
He’s right. Until the Bears reach the point of no return, there’s a chance they’ll stay in Illinois. And there’s a chance that Friday’s announcement about the Bears is the latest move in a leverage play, aimed at forcing progress in Chicago or Arlington Heights.
The Bears are a step closer to playing their home games across the border in Indiana.
The franchise announced on Friday that the team’s board of directors voted on Thursday to advance the stadium development in Hammond, Indiana. The exact site is still to be selected.
“We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city,” Bears chairman George McCaskey and president Kevin Warren said in a joint statement. “It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
Notably, this is the first time the franchise’s board has voted on any stadium site.
The development comes a few days after the state of Illinois did not pass legislation that would have ensured certainty in the Bears’ property tax for the Arlington Heights, Illinois, stadium site.
Warren has said that he would like the stadium project to be certain by early summer.
This is another step in that process, which would see the Bears play their future home games across state lines. It would give Indiana two franchises, with the Bears joining the Colts.
The Bears are getting their top two draft picks under contract.
Safety Dillon Thieneman and center Logan Jones have both agreed to terms on their rookie deals, according to a report from NFL Network.
Thieneman, the No. 25 overall pick of this year’s draft, was selected out of Oregon. He transferred there last year after playing his first two collegiate seasons with Purdue.
Once Thieneman signs, there will be just seven 2026 first-round picks yet to put pen to paper.
Jones, the No. 57 overall pick this season, played his college ball at Iowa. He was the Rimington Trophy winner in 2025 as the best center in college football.
In late March, the Bears made their position clear regarding a new stadium — Arlington Heights or Hammond, Indiana.
Don’t take my word for it, as if you ever would. Bears CEO Kevin Warren appeared on PFT Live from the annual league meetings. We asked him, point blank, whether there’s a chance that, as the team explores Arlington Heights vs. Hammond, the clouds will part and Chicago will emerge as the solution.
“That’s a great question, but we strongly believe the only site in the state of Illinois, Cook County, is Arlington Heights,” Warren said.
That was March. Then came April. As reported by Justin Laurence of Crain’s Chicago Business, at least six calls and virtual meetings occurred between the team and Chicago attorneys from April 3 through April 22.
On April 22, the Illinois House of Representatives approved a bill that would have made Arlington Heights far more attractive, by virtue of significantly reducing the team’s property-tax obligation.
The timeline of the communications supports the notion that the team has been considering Chicago as a Plan B, in the event Arlington Heights doesn’t work out as the Plan A.
The team contends that the communications with the city focused on the lease at Soldier Field. Laurence, citing unnamed sources within Chicago City Hall, disputes that claim.
Overall, the report lends credence to the recent claim from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson that Chicago remains a viable contender to host the team’s new stadium.
The end result is that no one knows what’s going to happen with the Bears’ stadium effort. And no one seems to know what the Bears truly want.
It’s possible that the confusing cascade of conflicting developments and potential motivations is part of a 5D game of chess. It’s also possible that the Bears are playing checkers with Thurman Merman.
